Computer owners now have access to a great wealth of "programs" in readily usable form through small computer disks. Information is also stored on such disks and can be referred to later for further use. For example, in word processing, a single disk may be used to store several letters to a single entity. Instead of retaining a paper file, the information may be kept in place on the disk for possible future use. A letter, for example, can be retyped from the disk without need to search out a bulky file and retype an existing, say, form letter. Storage of the disk, rather than the paper file, then becomes a problem.
The small, flat disks usually have a label space available along one flat surface. This label becomes covered when the disks are stacked or nested in "files". Adequate display is also a problem. Discs are not easily "thumbed through" when stored in standard "recipe boxes", and the boxes themselves take up the same desk space whether in use or not.
Computer disk users are in need of a storage and display system that will effectively display a desired number of disks (with labels showing) and that will store disks in a minimum amount of space. There is also need of such a system that is easily carried from one place to another in keeping with the increasing portability of computer products.
A calculator storage device and support is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,568. This device is a folding case having one solid surface for receiving a calculator. The lid for the case is formed in two hinged sections. When closed, both sections of the lid extend over the calculator face and latch onto the opposite casing section. When folded open, one of the cover sections is hinged relative to the other, forming a support to hold the calculator face at an inclined angle. This device is intended exclusively to store and support a calculator for protection in storage and for holding the calculator at a desired angle when in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,314 discloses a storing device for flat objects such as cards. This device somewhat resembles a "recipe box". The distinguishing feature is the capability of the card receiving pockets to be lifted upwardly into a stepped, partly exposed position. Each pocket then projects beyond the next adjacent pocket to permit access to the various cards held therein. The container or box receiving the movable pockets remains the same identical size and configuration whether in the storage mode or the open, display mode.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,439,868 to Segal discloses a record binder. This device makes use of two rigid cover members foldable along an integral edge. One cover member mounts a number of stacked record receiving pockets. The other member can be folded over the stacked pockets to close and store the records. Alternatively, the cover can be folded backward from the record pockets to form a brace, supporting the record pockets in a substantially upright orientation. There is no provision for latching the cover member in the storage or open, bracing conditions. Furthermore, the record pockets are "stacked" so only one record may be displayed at a single time.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,188 to Green discloses a cassette caddy. One form of the caddy includes a flat back member with vertically overlapping cassette receiving pockets. The cassettes are received in such a way that the top edges are exposed one above another in a shingled orientation. Another embodiment shows the lose, flexible cover that can be folded or rolled onto itself to a storage orientation or pulled over the exposed cassette tops and latched to one of the pockets to secure the cassettes in place and protect them from dust or damage.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,499,712 to Wilburger discloses a disk record folio that is somewhat similar to the binder shown in the Segal U.S. Pat. No. 2,439,868. Wilburger makes use of a rigid frame but also includes a latching member on the folding cover than can be secured to a lip adjacent the flat, stacked record pockets. The cover is therefore foldable from a closed, latched orientation covering the exposed surface pocket to an open supporting orientation wherein the record receiving pockets are held in an upright, horizontally stacked orientation. The latching member is used only to hold the covers closed.
The above references disclose attempted solutions to problems of storing various devices including calculators, records, and magnetic tape cassettes, but none specifically address the problem of receiving, storing, and adequately displaying computer disks. The need, therefore, remains for a device that will effectively display computer disks for quick recognition and access and that will also store the same disks in a compact, secure condition for storage and transport.